Friendship is Magic: Ponies and Dragons
by kattkid5
Summary: Twilight Sparkle has become the fourth princess of Equestria! But we won't be seeing her. This story takes place in a new town, with new characters and new adventures! In the town of Scaletiago, ponies can't live as comfortable and peaceful as in other cities, because here there be dragons...
1. Pilot Episode Pt1

The town of Scaletiago sat inside its protective walls, buzzing with activity. It was a new settlement, originally just an outpost, but the princesses of Equestria had decided to turn it into another town. The decision had brought up confused questions, though, because it was built in the southeast, in dragon territory.

* * *

"Watch out!" cried a voice. Workers froze, looking around, calling out questions.

"What is it?" "What's wrong?"

The voice shouted, "Watch out for the DRAGON!"

Immediately, ponies started screaming and running. Piles of building materials were knocked over, tools scattered across the ground.

"Wait!" the voice called out, "Watch out! Careful!"

Ponies tripped, collided, and hit the starting structures. The frameworks toppled, narrowly missing the fleeing workers. Clouds of dust erupted into the air. The dragon came down with a…

_SQUEAK!_

"My dragon!" the bellowing child said, "Don't step on my dragon!" He picked up his toy and ran off.

A little ways away stood an earth pony. He had a yellow coat, a red mane and tail streaked with tan, and brown eyes. His cutie mark was a crossed hammer and chisel in front of a white half-circle. The earth pony stared at the scene, thoroughly confused, then walked away, pulling his cart along.

**[THEME]**

"Hello there. What's your name?"

The earth pony looked up to see a light pink unicorn trotting over to greet him. She had a dark red mane and tail, the mane gathered up in a hair band, and bright, purple eyes.

"I'm Chip Craft," the earth pony replied.

"Well, Chip Craft, my name is Lamora. Welcome to Scaletiago." She smiled quickly before continuing. "I've been looking for newcomers to show them around."

Chip nodded. "I was just on my way to my new shop. Need to move in and set up."

Lamora turned around as she said, "The Shop District is right this way. Follow me."

The two began walking down the road. Chip noticed that everypony else was bustling about, entirely focused on their work. Most of the ponies in Scaletiago were construction workers, part of the protection team against dragons, or other ponies working to help the town grow. Chip looked over at Lamora. Her cutie mark was a sparkling, kite-shaped shield.

"Are you on the protection team?" the earth pony asked.

"That's correct," she said, "My sister and I moved here to help keep ponies safe."

Just then, a pale lavender pegasus flew down beside the two. "Excuse me," she said, "can somepony tell me where Town Hall is?"

"Reporting to the weather captain?" Lamora asked, and the pegasus nodded. "Town Hall's in the center of Scaletiago."

The pegasus nodded again. "Thanks. By the way, I'm Glitterlight." She tossed her purple mane. The grey streaks in it flashed in the sun. Glitterlight had light blue eyes and grey hooves. Her cutie mark was a white sun with yellow flares, encircled by two swirls of clouds.

"I am Lamora, and this is Chip Craft." Chip said hello and Glitterlight took off again.

The earth pony and unicorn walked for a few more minutes before finding Chip's new house. It was a small building with a display window and store on the ground floor and a simple home on the upper floor.

"This looks nice," Lamora commented. She looked around. "And you're practically right next door to Dandy's Fashions." Chip turned to see a large building with dressed mannequins in the windows. He raised one eyebrow. "Look!" Lamora said, "There's the owner." She waved.

A yellow unicorn walked out of the building. She had a green mane and tail and blue-green eyes. Golden earrings hung from her ears and her cutie mark was a gold sewing needle with green thread through it. The unicorn saw Lamora waving and trotted over to them.

"You must be another new neighbor," said the unicorn to Chip, "my name's Dandelion, but most ponies just call me Dandy." Chip introduced himself and Dandelion smiled, then asked, "So, have you ever been to Ponyville? I've asked everypony I meet. You see, I heard of a fantastic boutique there. Ponies have even said that the owner is friends with _the new princess_. Can you believe it? Amazing!"

Chip spoke up before she could continue, "I'm sorry, but I really should get to unpacking."

Dandy said, "Yes, of course. My bad… Oh! Lamora, you must come see my new dress line. You will love it!" The two unicorns left Chip alone. He quickly put his belongings upstairs and found, at the bottom of the cart, the sign he had designed. He lifted it out and studied his shop front, trying to decide where to put his sign and how to get it there.

"Need some help?" said a voice behind him. Chip jumped and saw a dark-colored griffon. He didn't know there was a griffon in Scaletiago.

"Uh…" was the earth pony's answer. The griffon took it to mean "sure" and lifted the sign into the air, hovering near the shop. Chip secured it in place and stepped back. The griffon landed beside him, examining the building.

"Looks great," he said.

Chip hesitated, then thanked the griffon and told him his name.

The griffon nodded. "I'm Shadow."

Chip was about to start a conversation when he heard a dull, rhythmic sound. He looked around. It was getting louder, and sounded more like wings flapping. Then he saw the silhouette of a large creature flying towards town from the south. Other ponies saw it too.

"Dragon!"

Before anyone could react, the giant, blue dragon soared straight past the town, casting an enormous shadow across the buildings. It slowed down a ways outside the northern gate, turning west, and landed in the mountains nearby.

Chip saw some ponies heading the other way, toward the center of town. Several other pegasi were flying closer, trying to see where the dragon had gone. Shadow looked around, then said, "Maybe we should head to Town Hall." Chip nodded and the two hurried to join the other ponies.

Lamora was standing a few feet away from the crowd. Chip and Shadow went to her.

The unicorn said, "It looks like that dragon wants to settle into a cave up there. That's way too close to Scaletiago, though. If I were in charge, I would send in a team to kick that brute out."

"I don't know," Shadow said uneasily, "it looked pretty big."

"I've seen bigger," Lamora responded. Then a group of armored ponies galloped out of Town Hall and towards the northern gate. Lamora gave a satisfied huff. "There they go."

* * *

The armored ponies came back a while later, but not in triumph. They tripped over each other trying to get to safety, then awkwardly reported to the mayor that the dragon was not leaving. Ponies stood around Town Hall uncertainly. Lamora hurried into the crowd. Chip stayed still. He didn't know what to do. He was about to go back to his shop when Lamora ran back to him with the pegasus they had met, Glitterlight.

Lamora had a steely look in her eye as she approached and confidently said, "We're going to get that dragon out, but it would help to have more ponies. Are you with me?"

Chip gasped. "What? Did the mayor tell you to do that?"

"Well, no," the unicorn blushed angrily, "but I'm not going to just sit here, and Glitterlight said she'd do what she could to help me."

Glitterlight back flipped in the air. "Yeah! Let's go… Hey, I know you," she said to Shadow. "You wanna help us?"

Shadow hesitated before answering, "All right. I'll try." Then everypony looked at Chip. He bit his lip. What did he know about getting rid of dragons? But he did want to be helpful, and he certainly didn't like sitting and waiting.

"Okay," he said, "Let's go."

* * *

They arrived at the cave, some ready to fight, some unsure and cautious. Lamora marched right up to the entrance and shouted, "Dragon! Come on out!"

After a minute without a response, the unicorn used her purple magic to lift a rock and throw it inside. Shadow whispered, "I don't think you should do that. We could try reasoning with it."

Glitterlight gave a little laugh. "Probably a little late for that, so you better get ready." She picked up a large stick with her teeth, hit the cave opening several times, and then called out. "Hey, you in the cave!"

Lamora sighed. "All right, let's go in." She chose a larger rock and led the way. The four stepped cautiously into the darkness.

Chip felt a bit foolish. "Guys?" he whispered, "Are you sure this is the right cave?"

It was then that the dragon gave a mighty roar. Chip, Shadow, and Glitterlight took involuntary steps back, but Lamora stayed put and shouted back. Then the cavern was silent again. Frustrated, Lamora knocked on the entrance walls with the rock she held in her magic.

"Come on!" she shouted, "He's just trying to scare us off!" Glitterlight picked up her stick again, hitting the wall. Lamora yelled at the dragon again, but got no response.

Chip felt a pebble bounce on his snout. He looked up and saw dust and more pebbles coming down with each hit the cave walls took. "Wait a minute," he tried to say, but his words went unnoticed. The four could hear the dragon's claws scraping against the rocky floor and the dragon's growl as it rose in volume.

"He's coming," Shadow whispered.

Chip turned to Shadow and pointed up. "Look. Do you see that?" He could tell the griffon did because Shadow's eyes grew wide as he gazed up at the ceiling. Chip shouted, "Lamora! Glitterlight! Stop!"

It was too late, Chip realized. The enormous crack stretching across the cavern's ceiling shook from the last strike. Everypony glanced up, then back to the entryway as the rocks began to fall. They ran out of the way of the boulders, but out of the way was further into the cave.

Chip Craft leapt to a safe spot, and, with the last light from outside, he saw a large, blue, scaled paw with long, white claws standing next to him.

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Pilot Pt2

**[Previous Events Recap]**

**[THEME]**

Purple light from Lamora's horn shone through the darkness. "Is everyone okay?" she asked.

Chip Craft heard Shadow and Glitterlight respond. He stood up, shaking his head, then abruptly stopped as he realized that something was right in front of him. Lamora's light showed that it was the large front leg of the dragon. Chip screamed, backing away, and the others soon followed suit when they noticed the dragon looming over them. Shouts filled the cave until the dragon let out another roar and they all went silent.

The dragon sighed and sat down. "Finally," he growled, "you stop all that noise."

The ponies were silent. Shadow eventually whispered, "Sorry…"

Lamora stepped forward. "Wait, no," she said, "we came to get you out of here! You're a danger to Scaletiago."

"Really?" the dragon said irritably, "How come?"

Lamora paused, mouth open to speak. Glitterlight muttered, "Well… you're a dragon…"

"And you are a pegasus," he replied, "So what?"

"Well," Shadow said, "It's just that we were worried that you would… cause trouble for Scaletiago… I mean, not to be accusing or anything… but dragons tend to…"

"Destroy things?" the dragon said, "I'll admit, I do break things now and then, but I quite enjoy being around ponies." The others blinked in confusion, and he carried on. "They're an interesting bunch, and I prefer doing the unexpected."

Chip felt he was beginning to understand. "You… like to stand out?"

"I am a unique dragon," he nodded, "and defiant."

"So not attacking ponies is how you… show defiance?" Chip asked. The dragon shrugged, as if saying that his suggestion was close enough.

Shadow turned to Lamora and said, "See? We could have just talked to him."

Lamora shifted, looking down. Glitterlight flew up to the dragon's face. "We know that now, but how are we going to get out, Dragon?"

"My name," he replied, "is Hemlock. And there is a second exit I will guide you to, as long as you don't wander. I will warn you now that if you try to take anything from my collection, I will act as any other dragon would."

Glitterlight swallowed nervously and followed close behind Hemlock.

* * *

The group made their way back to Scaletiago, stopping at the northern gate. Soon the mayor and other ponies were heading out to meet them. The mayor wasn't the major pony, though; striding forward at the front of the growing crowd was the tall, dark, intimidating figure of the Princess of the Night.

Princess Luna stopped directly in front of the dragon. The ponies bowed to her and Lamora said, "Your Highness, we did not know that you were here."

Luna replied, "I… I came to supervise construction for a short while… The mayor has told me of the predicament presumably concerning this dragon here?"

"Yes, Princess," Chip said, "We went to persuade the dragon, Hemlock, to leave…"

"And?"

Glitterlight took over. "He would rather stay, Princess. He doesn't actually mean any harm."

Luna looked up at Hemlock. The dragon stared back. Then he spoke. "I would be very grateful if I could live in the mountains near here. I would not prey on any citizen of this town, I swear it."

"Swear it upon your treasure," the princess ordered.

Hemlock looked straight into the princess's eyes. "I swear on my treasure that I will not harm or take things from the citizens of Scaletiago." There was a pause and Luna's expression softened. Then Hemlock added, "Unless, of course, they steal from me. Or try to hurt me. It should be fair, you know."

Luna didn't move for several seconds, then turned swiftly to the crowd. "Citizens of Scaletiago," she shouted, "The dragon known as Hemlock has agreed not to harm you. He is now your ally!"

The ponies gave a relieved cheer and the mayor got to work getting everything back in order. Luna left the crowd behind, heading back to the Town Hall. Chip, Lamora, Shadow, and Glitterlight said their goodbyes to Hemlock.

"So," said Lamora, "I guess I owe you an apology."

Glitterlight laughed, "Yeah. You made a mess of his new cave."

"So did you," Chip countered.

The pegasus nodded. "That's true…"

Hemlock unfolded his wings. "Now then, if you'll excuse me," he said, "I've got to fix my cave." He took off and the other four waved as he left.

Shadow smiled as he said, "I never thought I'd make friends with a dragon."

Lamora smiled. "Me neither. But then again, I have a lot of friends. I know a lot of ponies, and you, Shadow, and I know a lot of rabbits and birds. I even made friends with a rock once. His name was Boulder…"

* * *

Near the end of the day, the Princess of the Night was soaring above Scaletiago. She flew all around the town, then all around the fortifications. She watched the ground, the ponies, the small critters, the birds. Luna landed lightly on the stones arching above the northern gate and scanned the land before her.

Then she whispered, "Where are you?"


	3. Pearl

Ponies hurried back and forth, carrying materials and tools, but they weren't the usual building supplies. All of Equestria was preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration taking place in three days.

Chip Craft was in his shop, placing his new merchandise. Glitterlight stepped through the door, making the little bell ring, and greeted him.

"Hi, Chip," she said, looking around, "Just came to see your store… What all do you sell? There's tons of stuff here!"

Chip smiled. "Let's see, there are little statuettes like in the window there." He pointed to the various figures of dragons, famous ponies, and other creatures. "There are interesting little trinkets." Potential souvenirs from Scaletiago sat neatly on a table. "I also have some jewelry over here." A glass cabinet held a collection of necklaces and bracelets. "Over there are ceramic creations." A set of shelves showed off bowls, plates, pots, and cups. "And every now and then I get a painting up for sale." He pointed to the empty wall where he planned to put such products.

Glitterlight took another look around the room. "Wow," she said. Her eyes settled on a delicately carved trinket shaped like the sun and painted gold. She was about to ask about it when they both heard a pony run by, shouting at the top of her lungs for the mayor.

Chip opened the door curiously. Then he looked at Glitterlight. "What is that all about?" he asked.

Glitterlight shrugged. "One way to find out," she said.

**[THEME]**

Chip and Glitterlight joined the growing crowd in front of Town Hall.

"Weren't we just here?" asked Lamora as she joined the two.

Chip shrugged. "Anypony hear anything about what's happened?"

Lamora added, "Anything besides, 'MAYOR! MAYOR MANIPURI!'"

The ponies standing around the group all stared at the pink unicorn. Then everypony looked to Town Hall as the doors opened and Princess Luna flew out. The doors closed behind her.

Chip gave a snort after a few minutes. "Nopony's coming out," he said, "How are we supposed to know what's going on?"

"I could tell you."

The three ponies jumped. "Shadow!" Glitterlight hissed, "Warn us next time, will you?" The griffon seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

"Sorry," he muttered, "but anyway, I heard what that pony told the mayor. I happened to be in Town Hall when she ran in. Ponies usually don't notice when I'm there, so I just stood by and listened."

"So?" Chip asked, "What happened?"

"Apparently, the pony was on patrol duty and spotted a creature she had never seen before. It was dark and the size of a pony. She said it looked right at her and screeched before disappearing in the brush. That's when she came running for the mayor."

The group thought for a bit.

Chip spoke up. "It looked like that pony came from the north wall. We could ask Hemlock if he saw anything; his cave is in that direction."

"Good idea," Lamora said, "Let's go see him!"

* * *

"Doesn't sound familiar," said Hemlock. The five were outside the dragon's cave, talking.

Glitterlight frowned. "Now what?" she asked.

"We could look around," Chip suggested.

Lamora shook her head. "That thing could be dangerous," she said, "I don't want anyone to get attacked."

Glitterlight flew into the air and replied, "We'll stick together. That way we can all look for it and watch each other's backs at the same time. It wouldn't be able to sneak up on us."

"We don't know its capabilities, Glitter," Lamora said, "and with that formation, anything could see us coming."

"Wait," said Shadow, "it might not even be dangerous."

Chip sighed. "So what do we do?"

Their thoughts were all interrupted when a loud _CRASH_ came from Hemlock's cave. The dragon spun around, almost knocking the others over with his tail. "What is in my cave?!" He roared, racing to his home. The others went after him, colliding with him in the cavern when he stopped.

They all glanced at Hemlock's great heap of gold and jewels, then froze as they saw the body that had just fallen from the pile. It was a pure black, pony-shaped being, with a curved horn and dark green wings. Its legs had small chunks missing. It grunted, sitting up and opening its pupil-less eyes, and froze as it saw the others.

Hemlock went into a rage. This creature had snuck into _his_ cave and found _his_ treasure! The dark figure scrambled to its feet and ran. Hemlock roared, chasing it. Chaos ensued in the cave as the dragon tried to catch the creature. Suddenly, a loud, echoing voice stopped everything.

"_BE STILL!_"

Princess Luna stood at the entrance, demanding order. The ponies, dragon, griffon, and creature all turned to her, silent. She glared at them all in turn, but when she looked at the creature, she smiled reassuringly instead.

"Hello there," she said softly. "Are you all right?"

The pony-shaped being stared at her.

Glitterlight spoke up. "What's going on? What is that?"

Luna answered, "She is a changeling."

"A changeling?" Lamora repeated.

"Yes," Luna nodded, then looked at the changeling again. "I have been looking for you, little one."

The changeling whispered, "Y-you have?"

Glitterlight shook her head and said, "I'm confused. What is going on?"

The princess explained, "Some weeks ago, I became aware of a young creature that was having several nightmares. They were distorted, confused, and frightening. I tried to enter them and help whichever pony was having them, but it was difficult. I could not even tell what kind of creature was having such dreams for a while. I did finally get enough out of what I saw to come to Scaletiago in search of a changeling."

She spoke directly to the changeling again. "Could you tell me what happened to you, little one? I only want to help you."

The changeling paused, then spoke in a quiet voice, "I… I don't really know."

"What do you mean?"

"I lost my memory a while ago… The first thing I can remember is being in the middle of nowhere. I tried to talk to somepony, but they screamed and ran away. I've been wandering around for weeks."

Chip asked, "Was it you that the pony saw outside the northern wall?"

"I saw a pony there," she answered, "She scared me, so I hid. When she left, I ran the other way and found this cave."

Glitterlight understood. She looked at Hemlock and said, "She wasn't stealing anything, she was looking for a place to hide. Calm down!" The changeling fixed her eyes on Glitterlight.

Shadow asked, "What do we do now? This changeling lost her memory and wandered around ever since. She has no place to go."

"Hey," Glitterlight said, "She doesn't even know her name, does she?" The changeling shook her head. Glitterlight looked at her for a moment. Then she noticed the string of pearls at the changeling's feet. Most were white, but some pearls had a blue-green tinge. The changeling had eyes just like that. "What if we called her Pearl?" the pegasus asked.

Everypony thought for a moment. Then Luna said, "I would think the answer to your question should come from her."

The changeling hesitated. "Um… Okay," she said. She looked at Glitterlight and gave a small smile.

"Pearl it is," Lamora agreed. The others nodded.

Luna stepped forward. "Well then, Pearl," she said, "it looks like you have some new friends. I trust they will be kind and help you if you need them. Now, I'm afraid I must go. I am going to be with my sister in Canterlot for the Summer Sun Celebration." The princess walked to the cave entrance, the others following behind her. "Take care of her, you five." Luna said, spreading her wings. She left them all at the cave opening.

* * *

"What is going on?" a pony shouted. Glitterlight groaned. She was trying to sleep. She got up and left her room. Entering her living room, Glitterlight noticed that Pearl was awake, too.

"I'm sure it's nothing," the pegasus reassured her little friend. Glitterlight felt annoyed. The closer the Celebration got, the more problems rose up in preparing for it. She went to the window and gasped.

The sky was split, the sun on one part, the moon on the other.

* * *

The sky confusion was fixed before the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony wondered about it, sharing rumors and making theories, but nopony knew for sure what had happened.

Chip, Lamora, Shadow, Hemlock, Glitterlight, and Pearl sat outside the city walls, waiting for the sun to rise.

Hemlock looked over at Pearl and said, "I have decided to forgive you."

The others all rolled their eyes, and Pearl responded, "Oh… Thank you…"

"All right, then," Lamora smiled, "Everypony ready?"

The moon went down and was replaced by the sun. Several fireworks in town went off. All the ponies cheered. Pearl looked at all the happy faces. Smiling, she cheered with them. Then she stopped. Her voice had been louder than she ever remembered it being, and she felt full of energy. But she had stayed up all night with the others. Pearl was confused, but then she noticed the others were getting up to go celebrate.

"Wait for me!" she said.


	4. The Weather Captain

The sound of a hoof knocking on the front door woke Glitterlight up. She got up, groaning, and stomped into the living room. Pearl was awake, too, huddled on the couch. Glitterlight opened the door to see another member of the weather team.

"What's up?" she asked the pegasus.

"A bunch of dragon smoke has spread across the sky," he said, "I'm getting the team together. Meet up above Town Hall." The pegasus took off.

Glitterlight glanced at Pearl. "I got to go get rid of the smoke. Be good, all right?"

The changeling yawned, then nodded. "Bye," she waved as Glitterlight walked out and closed the door.

**[THEME]**

Glitterlight met the other pegasi and they started to clear the smoke away. Dragon smoke was hard to get rid of when they couldn't just move the dragon. A newly developed spell had to be placed on pegasus wings that would drive the smoke out of an area and keep it out for a few weeks.

The weather team worked through most of the morning. Glitterlight blew out the remains of a smog cloud and paused. She glanced behind her and saw an orange pegasus with a yellow and white mane and tail. Her tail was braided halfway and then let loose, and her cutie mark was a white, six-tipped shooting star with three yellow tails. The pegasus was named Hotshot, and she was the weather captain.

Glitterlight frowned. She hadn't seen Hotshot working all morning. She watched as the captain instructed another pegasus.

"Just beat it back," Hotshot said, "The sky was supposed to be clear an hour ago." She then left the pony to work and looked around, spotting Glitterlight. "Get a move on!" she called. Glitterlight sighed as she went after another patch of dragon smog.

* * *

When all the smoke was gone, Glitterlight landed by the road. She started walking and noticed Hotshot nearby. With barely a pause, she turned towards the weather captain.

"Hi," Glitterlight said.

Hotshot glanced in her direction. "Hey."

"Tough work today…" She watched Hotshot.

The captain merely nodded, looking away. "Sure was."

"Of course, it could've gone faster with more ponies working…"

Hotshot's eyebrows furrowed; she understood. Then she spoke nonchalantly. "Oh, well. Next time I guess I'll have to try harder to keep ponies from pausing to stare at me."

Glitterlight glared at her. "Maybe ponies would stop staring if you'd clear clouds like everypony else."

"I do," Hotshot said, finally turning to face Glitterlight, "when I need to. In the meantime, I catch slackers and direct them."

"By telling them what they already know and complaining." Glitterlight tried to sound calm.

Hotshot smiled, but her dark blue eyes were still full of anger. "If I were you, I wouldn't question my captain. I would be quiet and stay out of her way. Now run along with your little friend; I have things to do."

Before Glitterlight could respond, Hotshot flew into the air and sped away. She was about to follow when a small voice spoke near her.

"Hi, Glitterlight."

The pegasus turned to see Pearl smiling at her. The changeling said, "Everypony is heading to Hemlock's. Come on!"

Glitterlight huffed, stood still for a moment, and then said, "All right, kiddo. Let's get going."

* * *

Hemlock, Chip Craft, Lamora, and Shadow were hanging out near the dragon's cave. Glitterlight flew slowly towards the group as Pearl flapped her beetle wings as quickly as possible, buzzing past and almost colliding with Hemlock.

"There you two are," Lamora said. Glitterlight attempted to smile, but failed, causing Lamora to frown. "What's wrong?" she asked, "Do I need to beat somepony up?"

"No," Glitterlight replied, "I don't think that would look very good."

The others turned to her. Shadow asked, "What happened?"

Glitterlight took a breath before explaining the situation in a rush, her voice getting louder and louder until it was a shout. She finished and sat down.

Chip spoke up after a pause. "Didn't anypony else notice her?"

"Not really," the pegasus said glumly.

Lamora said, "No way! This is so frustrating, I could just scream." She took a deep breath to do so, but Hemlock stopped her.

"Quit it, Lamora. That's not going to help."

"Okay then," said Chip, "what can we do, Glitter?"

The pegasus didn't answer. The others waited. Glitterlight stood up and said, "Don't worry about it. I'm fine." She flew off without another word.

The others looked at each other. "What should we do?" Shadow asked.

* * *

Glitterlight wandered through town. She was searching each street, carefully peeking around each corner, until she found her. Hotshot was walking around with some other ponies. Glitterlight waited until they had turned to a different road before following.

She was looking for some sort of evidence to show everypony that Hotshot wasn't as great as she acted. She followed the group around, to stores, to the park. The ponies all joked around and laughed, but she couldn't hear what they said. She finally felt like giving up when Hotshot went home.

"I can't get anything out of this," Glitterlight muttered. She flew away, back towards her house. She landed and opened the door.

"SURPRISE!"

Glitterlight jumped. Pearl, Lamora, Chip, and Shadow had decorated her living room. The pegasus was pulled inside as she said, "W-What? What are you doing in my house?"

"Throwing a party," Chip said, "What's it look like?"

"Not just a party," added the unicorn, "it's a Forget-About-Hotshot-She'll-Get-What's-Coming-To-Her party."

Glitterlight looked at the balloons and the colorful banner. She heard joyful music playing. "Wow," she said, and a smile spread across her face.

"All right, everypony," said Lamora as she hurried in and then out of the kitchen, "I brought cupcakes from Butterscotch Bakery!"

Glitterlight laughed. Maybe, she thought, it was better for her to let it go. All day, she had been in a mood, but here, with her friends, she could forget about it.

"Thanks, guys," the pegasus said, "now where's my cupcake?"


	5. Thieves

Shadow landed outside the cottage that sat close to the park and saw the pony he had been looking for. A light blue unicorn stood in front of the cottage. He had a dark blue mane and tail with bright yellow streaks. He had yellow eyes and his cutie mark was a set of dark blue prints: a paw print, a bird's foot print, and a goat's hoof print.

The unicorn trotted over to Shadow with a smile on his face. "Thank you so much for agreeing to help me," he said.

"It's no problem, Luminous Cheer," the griffon replied.

Luminous Cheer laughed. "No need to say such a long name. Most call me Lumin, but I've also answered to Cheery. Now, come along."

The two started towards the backyard, where several animals lived. On the way Shadow learned of a family of opossums, a couple of armadillos, a sloth, an anteater, all sorts of monkeys, a few porcupines, several chinchillas, some small spotted cats, three condors, a capybara, some grebes, herons, an osprey, some hawks, an eagle, several quails, a few parrots, owls, hummingbirds, a kingfisher, and a lot of swallows, wrens, and thrushes. A minute later he couldn't remember any of them.

"It can be a bit overwhelming at times, caring for so many animals," Lumin said. A wren flew over and sat on the unicorn's head. It gave a surprisingly loud trill and studied Shadow. Then a chinchilla hurried over to Lumin. "What is it, little guy?" he asked it.

The chinchilla led the unicorn and griffon towards the yard.

"Yes," he said, "we're coming. I haven't finished telling him about all the animals, though."

It was then that they heard a loud screech from the yard. Shadow ran past Lumin and saw four teenaged dragons. They were grabbing frightened animals and stuffing them into two sacks. Shadow took a deep breath and did something he rarely ever felt he had to do.

Shadow gave a huge roar.

The dragons looked up, startled. One dropped their sack. Then they all escaped.

**[THEME]**

"We have to do something!" Glitterlight said. She, Lamora, Pearl, and Chip Craft had just heard of the thieves.

Chip asked, "How's Lumin?"

"Well," Shadow said, "he stopped smiling."

"But he's always smiling!" said Lamora, "This is serious, guys."

Pearl jumped up. "Then let's go find them."

"Right," the griffon agreed, "Let's split up and find those thieves."

* * *

Shadow soared over the western wall of Scaletiago. He scanned the ground, searching for the dragons. He flew lower as the mountain range got closer and hiding places multiplied. He doubted they would hide, though. It was then that he spotted a scaled, orange tail disappearing into the bushes below.

The griffon dove down. He saw the four dragons standing in a small clearing and landed right in front of them. They jumped back, then realized it was a single opponent.

"Hey guys," said a brown dragon, "It's that little birdie from before."

"Get out of our way, Birdie," a purple dragon joined in.

Shadow stood his ground. "You took some things that are not yours," he said, "Please return them."

"'Please'?" an orange dragon laughed. "Are you gonna teach us some manners, Birdie?"

"Huh huh huh huh," went a cyan dragon. Shadow didn't react.

The brown dragon stepped forward. "Get lost, Hybrid," he growled.

The griffon remained where he was as he said, "I'm not leaving without the animals."

"Ooh," the orange one said mockingly, "You gonna take 'em from us?"

The cyan dragon gave his throaty laugh again.

"I think he _is_ going to take them from us! I'm _so_ scared!" the purple dragon told her companions. They laughed and she turned to see if he had shown a reaction, but he hadn't.

Shadow kept his features blank and unperturbed as the dragons tried other insults. He could see the disappointment in their faces; they were getting bored of him.

Suddenly a voice called out behind Shadow and his pony friends appeared, standing beside him.

"Got you!" Glitterlight shouted at the dragons. "Hand over the animals!"

The orange dragon responded, "Not a chance! It's our loot, and you little ponies can't get it."

Shadow gave a little sigh. The dragons started their insulting and the other ponies reacted, shouting back or pawing at the ground, ready to fight. The griffon stepped away and silently crept forward. The dragons and ponies were too focused on each other to notice him as he found the large sack sitting on the ground behind the dragons...

* * *

Chip Craft had had enough. "That's it!" he said, "Give us the animals or else!"

"Ha!" the brown dragon replied, "You gonna fight us?"

Glitterlight said, "Bring it on!"

The dragons and ponies were just about to battle when Shadow's voice called out.

"No need to do that."

They all looked at him, confused. He said, "The animals have all gone home."

The dragons twisted around to see their bag empty.

The purple dragon turned back to the griffon and said, "Why you little-"

"KIDS SHOW!" shouted Lamora.

The silence afterword was broken by the sound of wings flapping. They all looked up and saw Hemlock as he landed behind the ponies. He glared at the teen dragons and gave them a loud roar.

The teenagers jumped and ran.

* * *

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!" said Lumin. He beamed at the group before taking off to check on the returned animals and ask them if they were all right for the millionth time.

Glitterlight sighed. "Well," she said, "looks like everything's back to normal."

"At least as normal as 'normal' can be," agreed Lamora.


	6. Dragon Fight

Hemlock sat outside his cave as the sun came up. He sighed.

"What should I do on such a great morning?" he pondered aloud. "I could groom my scales." He glanced at his blue side. "No, they're already perfect… Sharpen my claws?" The dragon checked them. "Sharp and gleaming; no need to work on them… my teeth are dazzling, and my muscles are in perfect condition… hmm…" He glanced at the collar he wore, encrusted with diamonds and emeralds, but it too looked fine, so he shook his head again.

The dragon sat silently for a few seconds before he heard a distant sound and turned his head to Scaletiago. The ponies were running around urgently. Most were racing to buildings, while others were up on the walls. Hemlock could hear them shouting to each other. Then he saw what was causing the din. Coming ever closer was a giant, red and yellow dragon.

Hemlock watched it flying closer. He knew the other dragons would eventually test the city; they would see it as a challenge, something to conquer. The red dragon landed at the southern wall, roaring at the ponies there. Hemlock gritted his teeth, then came to a decision. He took off, flying straight for the attacking dragon.

**[THEME]**

The red dragon swung its claws at the wall. The stones held up mostly, but long, jagged cuts were weakening the structure and the spells. It roared again and went for another blow. A blur of blue and green collided with the dragon, making it fall over. The dragon got to its feet, saw Hemlock poised for attack, and roared at him.

Hemlock copied its cry, and then they charged at each other, locking claws. The red dragon slowly began pushing Hemlock back. Hemlock tried to anchor his feet in, but the red dragon was bigger and stronger. Hemlock was shoved against the city's wall as the other dragon went to hit him. Hemlock growled as he caught the other's claws and swung his tail at the dragon's exposed side, hitting it with his spikes. The red dragon jumped back with a howl before leaping at Hemlock again and squishing him against the wall. It was then that the wall broke down.

The red dragon hurried over Hemlock, using him as a bridge to the town, but was stopped as Hemlock bit its tail and dragged it back. The red dragon swung at him, he ducked, and then the red one released a torrent of fire. Hemlock dodged around, then his claws caught the red dragon's snout and he forced its mouth closed. The red dragon scratched at his arm, making him release it, and the red one backed away into the framework for a building, causing the structure to topple over.

Hemlock grabbed the other dragon, pulling it back towards the hole in the wall. The red dragon's arms flailed, hitting Hemlock and making him jerk away. The red one's tail swung towards Hemlock, knocking over a pile of building materials along the way, and hit him in his thigh with its club-like end. Hemlock grunted, growled, and jumped at the dragon, flapping his wings for extra lift. He slammed into the red one, making it fall over, but after a few seconds, the other dragon pushed him off and into another unfinished building.

Hemlock got up and saw that the protection ponies had stepped in. Flashes of magic hit the red dragon continuously, and it was backing away. Finally, the dragon opened its wings and flew off with a roar back to the south. Ponies cheered. Then everypony started to check on the damage done. Several buildings that had been under construction were now piles of broken wood and crushed metal. Tools and materials littered the ground and roads. A fire was spreading in one of the wrecked structures. Nearby houses had been beat up, one with a large wooden beam sticking through a window.

Hemlock looked around at the mess. He had tried to stop this from happening, and here he was in the middle of the remains of a building. He looked up as the ponies he knew called his name, running up to him.

"Are you okay?" Chip Craft asked when they reached Hemlock.

The dragon glanced at the destruction around him again. He gave a small huff and, with a slight shake of his head, he took to the sky and went to his cave.

* * *

Glitterlight, Shadow, and Pearl were flying above the street. Chip galloped along below them as they headed towards the northern gate. Lamora was with the protection team, and they didn't feel that they had the time to go and find her. The four made it to the gate and the three flying figures unconsciously sped up in the direction of Hemlock's cave.

Pearl landed first, awkwardly switching to a run as she touched the ground. The other two copied the act with a little more grace and soon overtook the changeling. They paused at the cave's entrance and called for their friend. The dragon reluctantly sauntered up to meet them, stopping at the opening and staying inside.

Shadow asked, "Are you all right? What's wrong?"

"You can talk to us," Glitterlight said.

"Yeah!" agreed Pearl.

Hemlock was silent for a few seconds, then gave a frustrated sigh. "I… I was trying to stop them," he spoke quietly.

"You did," replied the pegasus.

Hemlock frowned. "I wanted to keep the town safe."

"Everypony is fine, Hemlock," the griffon said.

Then the dragon let out a puff of smoke and said in frustration, "But I couldn't stop the other dragon from destroying things. I should have been more careful, but now the buildings are flattened and there's a hole in the wall."

Hemlock's glare stopped any objections before they were spoken. The others weren't sure how to respond.

Pearl started, "But you-" and was silenced by Hemlock's eyes on her. The dragon flapped his wings again and flew away.

It was then that Chip finally joined them at the cave, breathing hard from his running. "W-where did… he... go?" he said, "What's… what's wrong?"

Shadow informed him of Hemlock's dilemma. Chip looked at them all. "We need to… find him… somepony needs to… to watch his cave… treasures… and it's not going to be me."

Chip raced off in the direction Hemlock had taken, and Shadow and Glitterlight reacted quickly, flying after him. Pearl, however, didn't react in time.

"Oh," Pearl whimpered, disappointed.

* * *

Hemlock sat on a hill, surrounded by taller mountains. He listened to the silence and looked at his claws. Maybe they weren't all that sharp. Maybe he wasn't as good as he had always thought. He shifted, felt the bruise on his leg touch a rock, and shifted the other way. His scales, he reflected, didn't really look as great as they had that morning. He examined his jeweled collar. _Maybe_, he continued,_ I'm not as great as I thought this morning_.

He felt lost. Incompetent. Not enough.

"Hemlock!"

He turned and saw Glitterlight and Shadow soaring towards him, Chip close behind on the ground. He looked away as they finished catching up.

Chip's breathing was ragged. He panted, "Just… just give me a… min… a minute…"

They all stood there silently as he spent the next few minutes getting his breathing back to normal.

"All right," the earth pony cleared his throat.

Glitterlight looked up at the dragon. "Hemlock, you should be proud of yourself for standing up to that other dragon," she said.

"But I was aiming to save the town," he responded.

Chip said, "You saved the ponies. That's more important than a few buildings."

"I thought I could beat the other dragon."

"Who says you didn't?" said Shadow, "The dragon wanted to destroy all of Scaletiago. Did it?"

"… Well, no…"

Chip replied, "That's because you stopped it. If it weren't for you, Scaletiago would be in big trouble."

Hemlock was silent, but he kept his gaze with the others.

Shadow spoke again. "Hemlock, you did something great. You should be happy."

"Yeah," said Glitterlight, "would we ever lie to you?"

Hemlock muttered, "Not really…"

"So," Chip said, "let's think about this. A dragon, much bigger than yourself by the way, comes to destroy the entire town, and probably take anything it might want when it's done. You heroically fly in and fight it, and it eventually goes away. The damage adds up to a few buildings needing repair and a bunch of frightened, but unharmed, ponies. According to this information, how do you think you should be feeling?"

Hemlock didn't speak for a minute, but then a slow smile made its way across his face. "I should be feeling pretty awesome," he said. The others smiled with him.

"Come on, Hemlock," said Shadow, "Let's get back to Scaletiago."

Three of the friends unfolded their wings. The fourth turned to the path and sighed. Then Hemlock took a small bound and picked Chip Craft up in his claws. The four flew home.

* * *

"Don't. Do that. Again." Chip was standing at the northern entrance to Scaletiago. His eyes were wide and he looked a bit shaky.

"Flying isn't _that_ bad," Shadow said.

Then they all turned as they heard a familiar voice and saw Pearl flying toward them. She landed with a frown. "Thanks, you guys," she said sarcastically to the ponies and griffon, "I totally wanted to stay behind."

"Maybe next time, Pearl," said Glitterlight. Pearl rolled her eyes.

A voice from town called out. Again they all turned, but this time they saw Lamora running to meet them.

She stopped beside Shadow. "I have a feeling that I missed a bonding experience," she said.

Pearl replied, "I know that feeling."

Lamora was probably about to say something witty and humorous, but then they heard shouts. Ponies were sounding the alarm again.

For the second time that day, Hemlock looked at Scaletiago and saw a large, red and yellow dragon flying towards it. He hesitated.

Chip spoke to his dragon friend. "You can do this, Hemlock. We all know you can."

Hemlock looked at his friends, who nodded in turn. He glanced down at his collar, at the bright jewels on it. He switched his gaze to the dragon.

"Round Two," he whispered, and took off.

* * *

This time the red dragon saw Hemlock coming. It wasn't at the wall yet, and Hemlock was flying right over town. They collided in the air, swiping at each other with their claws, and landed hard on the ground. Hemlock struck quickly, hitting the red one's sides and swinging his tail around. The red dragon stopped his tail with its own, and a tail wrestle match ensued. Hemlock's spikes prodded the other dragon's tail, and it withdrew, but then it charged, using its superior size and weight to push him back, closer to the town.

Hemlock pushed back, knowing he couldn't overpower it, and swung his tail forward, but it was a feint. The other dragon flinched, and Hemlock pushed hard. The red dragon was off balance and stumbled back. Hemlock jumped after it and punched. The red one was hit in the face and growled, scratching and pushing at Hemlock until he backed away. Then the red dragon flew into the sky.

Hemlock followed suit, getting in front of the red one before it could make a break for the town. It snapped at him and he dodged, swinging his tail at it and making it backpedal in the air. It roared angrily at him and tried to catch him, but Hemlock avoided its claws. He got behind it, wrapped his tail around its club tail, and pulled, making the red dragon veer away from the direction of Scaletiago. The red dragon snarled at him, yanking free and chasing him. Hemlock went in random directions, zigzagging, going in loops, but slowly leading it away from town.

The red dragon was much bigger than Hemlock and couldn't fly as fast as him and wasn't as agile. It began to tire out, trying to keep up with him and find a way to catch him, but soon it was panting with the effort. Hemlock paused a ways away from it. The red dragon looked at him, then Scaletiago, then south, and grunted, making its way to the south again.

Hemlock watched it go to be sure it wouldn't return, then, satisfied, flew back to the pony town. He smiled and muttered, "About time they realized I can't be beat…"

* * *

**This episode was kind of hard for me. I am not a confident person, so writing as a confident person (or, in this case, dragon) can be difficult. It's still a good episode, though, don't you think?**


	7. Meet My Sister

Lamora rushed across the cobblestones. She checked all of her usual spots on Scaletiago's protective walls, making sure the enchantments were working properly.

"Looking good," she murmured as she tested another spell. She checked her last one, nodded as it showed solid, and hurried to the stairs.

She came to the bottom and reentered Scaletiago streets, trotting past the buildings. The unicorn dashed into the park and found her friends settled in a nice spot near the lake.

"I'm here," she called. Pearl, Shadow, Glitterlight, and Chip Craft greeted her, and then Glitterlight closed the book she was reading and asked the question.

"So what is this picnic all about?"

Lamora smiled. "I want to introduce somepony to all of you, although I wish everypony could have shown up."

The changeling replied, "Oh, Hemlock told me to say hello to everypony for him."

"Well, hello back," Lamora said.

"Who is it?" Shadow asked.

Lamora looked around and spotted what she was waiting for before answering.

"Okay then," she said, "I'd like you all to meet my sister."

**[THEME]**

A light red unicorn strode toward the group. She had a black mane and tail with bits of red on the ends. Her eyes were purple, just like her sister's. She was slightly smaller than Lamora, about Pearl's size. Her cutie mark consisted of a black shield similar to Lamora's, with a sword crossed over it, the hilt encrusted with rubies.

Lamora grinned. "Everypony, this is my little sister, Lancelynn."

The others welcomed her and everypony sat down. Lamora glanced at all of her friends as they started chatting with her sister. She was nervous about this meeting, but she slowly began to relax. Everypony seemed fine, so she opened up the basket in the middle and announced what the treats were.

"All righty then, here we have some cookies, a couple pies, and jelly donuts." She passed them all treats and then settled in her spot. Everything was fine so far. She loved being able to do this and sat silently amongst her friends.

"So," Chip continued, "you're on the protection team with Lamora?"

"Yes," Lancelynn said, "but I'm technically only a 'Junior Protector.'"

"What's the difference?"

Lancelynn explained, "Ponies my age are given smaller tasks to deal with. We are told to stay at the back in case of emergencies and let more experienced ponies solve the problem. It would be a little easier if juniors could help out more, though. I have enough experience to take charge in a situation."

Lamora joined in. "Yeah, that's right. Dad works in Canterlot Castle, and he taught us a lot, didn't he? Of course, some spells can go wrong pretty quickly. Remember when we were learning about barriers for the first time? And how-"

"I remember," interrupted her sister.

Lamora understood her tone and blushed. "Uh, yeah. Well… Anypony want more pie?"

Lancelynn turned the conversation away and Lamora went silent again. She remembered all the times she had charged on through her stories and ended up embarrassing her little sister. She needed to calm down and act normal. Then she realized how contradictory those two were. Calm and normal? What was she thinking-

"No, go ahead."

Lamora looked up at that, sensing the unease. She saw Lancelynn looking away and Pearl helping herself to a cookie. Lamora realized that her sister had given the changeling her last cookie, but she seemed apprehensive. Lamora bit her lip as she comprehended what was going on. Her sister was as uncomfortable around Pearl as most everypony else in town was. Lamora didn't know what to do about the situation, but nopony seemed to notice the problem.

Then Glitterlight spoke up. "Anypony seen my library book? I just had it here." The group looked around, seeing nothing of the sort.

When they all turned up with nothing, Chip said, "It'll probably be in the last place you'd look."

Lamora jumped at the opportunity. "Of course it would. Why would you still be looking afterwards?"

The others gave little laughs, except for Lancelynn, who muttered, "Heard that joke a thousand times…"

Lamora frowned. She did say that a lot at home, whenever somepony would say that phrase. She tried to smile and act normal, but then Glitterlight looked at her.

"You all right, Lamora?" she asked.

"Of course I'm all right," she replied, "Why wouldn't I be all right?"

Then Shadow said, "Glitterlight? I think I found it…"

They all turned to see a capuchin monkey holding a blue book. The capuchin looked at them, then the book, then ran, the book clasped tightly in its little hands.

"It's got my library book!" Glitterlight shouted, dashing after the monkey. The others followed suit.

**[CLASSIC CHASE SCENE]**

The capuchin raced out of the park, quickly reaching and then escaping through the southwestern gate. The others pursued it, skidding to a halt outside the gateway. Ahead of them was a large field of wild vegetation divided by a dirt road to nowhere. A forest grew on the other edge of the grassy countryside.

"How are we supposed to find that monkey now?" said Pearl. Glitterlight flew above, scanning the land, and Shadow and Pearl copied her.

Lamora sighed. She heard Lancelynn give a snort and then mutter, "What a waste of time…"

"Lynn," she whispered, "I just wanted us to have fun."

Her sister looked at her for a minute, sighed, and whispered back, "I know… I'm sorry."

Lamora turned as Lancelynn continued in a quiet voice, "I shouldn't have been so stiff. It's just that work has been getting to me. There's so much I could be helping with, but the others see me as a kid. I have to sit back and watch, and it gets really frustrating."

"It's all right. I should've noticed," Lamora said, and gave a hopeful smile.

Pearl screamed.

The two unicorns quickly spotted the changeling flying away from a large figure that had appeared in the tall dry grass. It was a wild cat, with sand-colored fur and dark eyes. It leapt to one side, and they could see the capuchin monkey narrowly avoiding the cat's claws and racing to a tree. It was a lone tree, isolated from the forest by the wild grass, but the feline couldn't reach the monkey in the tree's upper branches. Yet.

Lamora and Lancelynn glanced at each other with determined faces, then ran straight for the cat.

Lamora got in range first, ducking under the feline's swipe at her. She slid into its back legs, knocking the cat over, and rolled out behind it.

Lancelynn went towards the tree and, without a pause, kicked off of a rock, flew, and landed in the lowest branches, legs spread out to hold on. She pulled herself up and made her way towards the monkey.

Lamora kicked at the sand-colored cat as it turned toward her, making it shrink away, but then it swung in turn, and she darted out of its path. The feline glanced at the tree. Lamora glared at the cat. She had to distract it. "Hey!" she called to it. The cat looked at her and she waved. "So, how's your day been?" The cat's expression turned from anger to confusion.

Lancelynn climbed higher in the tree. She looked up and saw the monkey. "Come on, little guy," she said, "I'll get you out of here." The monkey went for the top of the tree and Lancelynn groaned. "Really?" she growled, and she used her magic, picking up the monkey and book.

Lamora sat with a knowing expression. "Mm-hmm. And when did this start happening?" The feline, lying on its back on a makeshift couch, began yowling, moving its paws around in the air as it explained.

"Um…" Lancelynn said, "Almost done here, Lamora?"

Lamora nodded, but then the cat looked at Lancelynn and the capuchin. Its eyes narrowed. The cat quickly stood and pounced, but Lancelynn was quicker. Her barrier went up with a purple flash and the feline bounced off. It roared and pounded on the wall of magic with its claws. Lamora stood and gave a shout. "Hey!"

The feline looked at her, saw her angry face, and saw her horn start to glow. Its prey was out of reach, and the pink unicorn was angry. The sand-colored cat turned and ran. Several feet away, it rolled into a ball and burst into a collection of tumbleweed that blew away in the wind.

The two sisters stood beside each other, watching as their friends came to them. Lancelynn dropped the capuchin lightly on the ground. She still held the book in her magic, and motioned to the forest. "Go on, little guy," she said, and the monkey ran off.

The others reached them. Chip said, "Wow! That was cool!"

Lamora laughed. "Yeah, but where were you guys?"

"Watching," Glitterlight answered.

"What was that thing, anyway?" Shadow asked. Pearl seconded the question.

"I don't know," Lamora said, "some kind of tumbleweed-cat-thing." Then she turned to her sister. "So, Lynn, what do you think of the gang? Enough excitement for you?"

Lancelynn smiled. "Eh. Kind of boring if you ask me," she joked. "Are we going to finish our meal or what?"

The group of friends set off for home.


End file.
